Carefully curated over the last forty years, Sworders is pleased to present the selected contents of North Road House, Hertford.
28 August 2024
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Designed in 1827 by the prominent local architect Thomas Smith, for his own occupation, the house is distinctly Regency with its stucco façade to the front, but with nods to the neoclassical style throughout. After a period of disregard, the house was saved from conversion to flats by the vendor and put back to its former splendour in the early 1980s.
Growing up in a household of collectors, the vendor notes he was influenced from an early age by his father, but cites an exhibition at the Victorian and Albert Museum in the late 1970s on Biedermeier furniture as the greatest steer in developing his daring yet genius taste. North Road offers the perfect expression of this, with its boldly coloured walls and abundance of architectural detail complementing the effortless mix of English and Continental furnishings. Each piece confidently placed with purpose, but without fussiness.
The collection is broad and eccentric, spanning from furniture to porcelain, but throughout is underpinned by a discerning eye for good early 19th-century design. Among the highlights are three striking chandeliers which hung in the principal rooms, to include a Regency colza example. Beyond this, a Biedermeier secrétaire à abattant with architectural interior is particularly notable.
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